Refunds

Requesting a Refund

Tickets purchased through united.com or the United Customer Contact Center in the last 24 hours may qualify for waiver of change or cancellation fees under our 24-hour flexible booking policy. In all other cases, please choose your refund type below and select Continue to begin the refund request process.

Any information you provide here may be added to your MileagePlus profile and could replace your existing information.

Cabin upgrade refund

In some cases, such as a last- minute change of aircraft or an irregular operation, you may be reaccommodated in a cabin other than the cabin you originally selected. In most cases, you will be issued a new boarding pass. If you were not reaccommodated in a cabin of similar or greater value, and you were issued a new boarding pass, the fees paid for the cabin upgrade will automatically be refunded. If you were not issued a new boarding pass, please complete all fields in the form below to request a refund.

All refunds are credited to the original form of payment used. Please allow up to seven business days for a refund to post to your credit card. If the refund does not post within one billing cycle, please contact your credit card company for information. For all other forms of payment, please allow up to 20 days for a refund to be processed.

Check (may be issued in person at any United airport or city ticket office or within 20 business days if received by mail)

Credit card

Credit card

Travel certificate or other stored credit

Travel certificate

Any combination of the above

Individual forms of payment based on how the original purchase was split

* Proof of check clearance, such as a canceled check or bank verification, is required when requesting an immediate refund in person. In these cases, the ticket amount, United Airlines ticket number, and issue date must match the canceled check.

Contact Refund Services

If you are unable to submit your request using our refund form, or if you need to send additional documentation and can’t do so electronically, you can contact our Refund Services team using one of the methods below. Please be sure to include, your United ticket number, your flight information and your contact information, and note the nature of your request.

Ticket refund policies

Tickets purchased through united.com or the United Customer Contact Center within the last 24 hours may qualify for waiver of change or cancellation fees under our 24-hour flexible booking policy.

In all other cases, a refund may be requested for any fare that allows refunds. Depending on the rules of the fare purchased, a cancellation penalty may apply. Most fares are non-refundable, and are not eligible for voluntary refunds. However, the value of your ticket may be eligible to be applied toward the price of a new ticket for a fee.

The refund amount you will receive depends on several variables. For example, tickets that are partially traveled will be calculated at a prorated amount based on the rules of the ticket purchased and segments flown. Fees and surcharges collected in conjunction with the ticket will only be refunded if applicable.

Select a section below for more information:

Travel agency and cruise line agency tickets

Refunds for tickets issued through a travel agency should be processed through the issuing agency.

Tickets issued by another airline

Refunds for tickets issued by another airline for United flights should be processed through the issuing airline.

Reissued and partially-used tickets

The refund amount for reissued or partially used tickets will be based on the difference between the fare plus charges applicable to the originally issued ticket and the fare plus charges of the segments flown.

Purchased or transferred MileagePlus miles are added to the receiving account immediately, and these transactions are nonrefundable.

MileagePlus upgrade service fees

Members will be charged the service fee when requesting an upgrade to United First®, United BusinessFirst® or United Business®. If for any reason the upgrade is not provided, the service fee will be refunded in conjunction with the re-deposit of the miles used to upgrade.

Delayed or canceled flights

When complications such as weather, air traffic control, and mechanical delays occur, you may be eligible to request a refund for a ticket that would otherwise be nonrefundable or have restrictions on refunds. In these situations, please submit a refund request.

If your flight is delayed two hours or more, and you would rather postpone your travel, please let us know, and we'll waive any change penalties that may have applied to your ticket. You may also receive a travel credit or refund for the unused portion of your trip if you choose not to travel. If your trip involves a connection and you have made it to the connecting city, you may ask to return to your origin and receive a travel credit or refund if there are no other suitable alternatives. The amount and type of credit will depend on the fare and what portion of the ticket has been used.

United will refund change fees and tickets in certain cases. All requests must be received prior to the ticket’s expiration date and must be accompanied by proper documentation (see “Documentation requirements and processing” below). We will refund tickets only when the unplanned event prevents the use of that ticket within one year of the ticket’s date of issue. In all other instances, the fare can be credited toward future travel, though the customer may receive a refund for flight change fees (see “Change fee refunds” below).

If your refund request is approved, a refund, minus a $50 USD processing fee*, will be provided to the original form of payment. Refunds for purchases made with Gift Certificates will be provided in the form of electronic travel certificates.

This policy applies in the following cases:

Death of the traveler, traveling companion or immediate family member

Travelers in the reservation actively on jury duty during the dates of planned travel

Certain illness situations

*Except where DOT 14 CFR Part 382 applies

Immediate family members

adopted ward

aunt

brother

brother-in-law

daughter

daughter-in-law

domestic partner

father

father-in-law

foster brother

foster daughter

foster father

foster mother

foster sister

foster son

granddaughter

grandfather

grandmother

grandson

half-brother

half-sister

husband

legal guardian

mother

mother-in-law

nephew

niece

sister

sister-in-law

son

son-in-law

step-brother

step-daughter

step-father

step-mother

step-sister

step-son

uncle

wife

Change fee refunds

In the event that your travel plans change as a result of illness or jury duty, you will be required to pay the applicable change fee at the time of that change. Once this change fee is applied, you may submit a request to have the fee refunded (minus a $50 USD processing fee).

Ticket refunds

Ticket refunds (minus a $50 USD processing fee) will be provided in the event of death and, in some cases, illness and jury duty. This applies to all tickets, including revenue, MileagePlus award tickets, promotional, bulk and net fares.

Documentation requirements and processing

In cases of death: Refunds require a copy of the death certificate. If your change is due to the death of an immediate family member, the request must contain the family member’s name and relationship to you.

Illness situations: Change fee refunds require a letter (on letterhead) from a licensed physician confirming that travel was not recommended due to the customer's illness. Ticket refunds require a letter (on letterhead) from a licensed physician confirming that travel was not recommended within the validity of the ticket (one year of ticket’s issued date) due to illness. If the request is due to the illness of an immediate family member, the request must contain the family member’s name and relationship to you.

Send all refund requests to United Customer Refund Services for consideration. Requests directed through other departments (contact centers, airport staff, etc.) will be referred to Customer Refund Services.

Surcharges and taxes

Surcharges, including international and insurance surcharges filed as YQ or YR, will follow the refund rule of the fare. If the fare is non-refundable, the surcharges are also non-refundable.

Lost paper tickets

In the event that you have lost your paper ticket, please complete the lost ticket refund form. At least one of the following supporting documents must be provided in order for us to process your request:

If paid by check, copies of both sides of the canceled check

If paid by credit card, a copy of the billing statement

If purchased through a travel agency, a copy of the lost ticket, which can be requested from the issuing agency

You may submit your request by downloading and printing the lost ticket refund form, filling in the required information, and presenting it and the supporting document(s) at any United Airlines ticketing location or by mailing it to the address on the form.

Documents may require the Adobe Acrobat reader, available for free from Adobe for Windows, Macintosh, UNIX and other platforms.

All refund requests are subject to audit and final approval by the United Airlines Refund Department. All refunds, with the exception of purchases made with Gift Certificates, are credited to the form of payment of the original ticket. Refunds for purchases made with Gift Certificates will be provided in the form of electronic travel certificates. Please allow 90 days for processing of lost ticket claims.

Other refund policies

To learn about refund eligibility for fee payments, expand a section below for more information:

Baggage service fees

Baggage service fee refunds may be requested if you have paid for one or more checked bags and don't travel as a result of a cancellation, change in schedule or schedule irregularity caused by United.

Booking service fees

Reservation booking service fees and close-in booking fees for award tickets are refundable only if you cancel your reservation within 24 hours of purchase. If you have purchased a ticket from United in the last 24 hours, go to Manage Reservations to cancel your reservation or contact the United Customer Contact Center for assistance.

Day-of-departure upgrades

Cabin upgrade fees are generally nonrefundable, but if a flight for which an upgrade fee has been paid is affected by a schedule change, cancellation or oversale, and you cannot be accommodated in United Global First℠, United First , United BusinessFirst or United Business on a later flight, you may request a refund of the fees paid for the upgrade using the Cabin Upgrade refund form.

Economy Plus® seating

There are certain scenarios where you may be reaccommodated in a seat other than the one you've purchased, such as in instances of irregular operations, a last minute aircraft change or an oversell. In these cases, you will be issued a new boarding pass. If you find that you have not been reaccommodated in a seat of similar or greater value, fees paid for the seat will usually automatically be refunded. In the event a new boarding pass is not issued, however, you may request a refund for your Economy Plus purchase.